On Thursday, a coalition of 85 civil right and drug policy reform organizations sent a letter to President Joe Biden as well as other federal officials. They used the unofficial cannabis holiday 4/20 to encourage the administration to de-schedule marijuana and support comprehensive legalization laws.
The letter was written by the Drug Policy Alliance, with the ACLU, Human Rights Watch and other signatories. It outlines the administrative steps officials can take to improve on Biden’s mass marijuana pardon from last year, and repair some of harms caused by prohibition.
Both groups praised the clemency declaration and Biden’s directive to review marijuana’s schedule status. However, they also pointed out a few limitations of both.
The pardon excludes non-citizens who face “mandatory detention, deportation and other immigration implications based on minor possess convictions.” Additionally, it does not apply to possession cases that occur after the proclamation.
The coalition expressed concern about the review of the schedule. They stated that, even if marijuana was moved to a lower scheduling, it would still be criminalized, and the same racially disparate enforcement trends would probably persist.
It continues: “While you’ve taken a bold step towards administrative review, there is still uncertainty as to whether enough research will be conducted that will satisfy how Health and Human Services has traditionally applied 8-factor analyses required.”
The letter explains that domestic research on cannabis has been stymied in part because the plant is classified under Schedule I drugs of the Controlled Substances Act.
It continues, “We urge HHS to better reflect the political and science realities of marijuana in the interpretation of the statutory requirements.” If the science available is as limited, it is possible that marijuana could be placed in Schedule 1, despite its obvious lack of relevance.
The groups stated that “while we must take into account science, we also must recognize that marijuana has had significantly greater research barriers than other Schedule I drugs until very recently,”
The coalition has called on the administration to form a taskforce “to examine the appropriate scheduling status of marijuana, taking into consideration factors that HHS and DOJ agencies cannot consider during the formal schedule review.”
This task force could, for example, examine marijuana research done outside the U.S. The task force could also consider the “political implications and social consequences of marijuana’s status as Schedule I.”
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The letter also calls for the administration to instruct agencies to stop using marijuana convictions at the state level as a basis to deny federal benefits or to deport people. The DOJ could issue guidelines to stop prosecuting people for low-level marijuana crimes, and officials could institute a policy that would reduce the stringent requirements of drug testing for federal employees, according to the groups.
Federal agencies such as the Departments of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs should adopt policies that “lessen the collateral effects of a marijuana offense with respect to the access to federal benefits.” VA could also pass rules allowing vets to access medical cannabis.
The letter states that “the administrative descheduling marijuana, along with other administrative measures, would be an enormous step forward in criminal justice reform, and would lay the foundation upon which additional components for comprehensive marijuana reform can be built.”
The groups say that merely descheduling marijuana would not solve the problem, as there is no regulatory framework for it. Unregulated interstate commerce, for example, could give big corporations an edge that could threaten social equity licensees and small businesses.
It states that “Additionally administrative descheduling will not apply retroactively nor will it expunge federal marijuana records, seal records or protect non-citizens against detention or expulsion for marijuana conduct.” This means that the White House and Congress must work together to pass comprehensive legislation on descheduling.
The letter refers to the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which was filed by Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (D) and his colleagues last year. This is an example of thoughtful legalization.
The groups concluded that “we implore you take whatever steps necessary to ensure marijuana is descheduled, and encourage Congress pass comprehensive legislation which includes criminal justice reform and the repair and centering of communities most harmed and criminalized by prohibition and criminalization. We also encourage Congress to adopt comprehensive legislation including criminal justice reform and a regulatory frame work that is rooted on equity, justice and public health.”
The letter also includes: Better Organizing to Win Legalization; Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition; Center for American Progress; Doctors for Cannabis Regulation; Justice Roundtable and Last Prisoner Project. Law Enforcement Action Partnership. Marijuana Policy Project. NORML. Parabola Center for Law and Policy. Students for Sensible Drug Policy. The Weldon Project. United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
The letter will be distributed in a formal manner on 4/20, Thursday.
There will be many events and campaigns to celebrate cannabis culture on that day. But it is also a time for serious policy discussion and calls for holistic reform.
Schumer, for example, and other members of Congress will be addressing marijuana policy at an event that takes place in the Capitol Building Thursday.
Below, you can read the letter from the coalition to the President and officials regarding marijuana reform:
New York Governor launches Marijuana campaign urging people to ‘Buy legal’ at State’s few Licensed Retailers before 4/20
Photo by Mike Latimer.
The post Advocacy groups’ 4/20 letter urges Biden to back marijuana legalization and take steps to remedy criminalization’s harms first appeared on Marijuana moment.
